Anna King
Anna King calls Richland, Washington home and loves unearthing great stories about people in the Northwest. She reports for the Northwest News Network from a studio at Washington State University, Tri-Cities. She covers the Mid-Columbia region, from nuclear reactors to Mexican rodeos.
The South Sound was her girlhood backyard and she knows its rocky beaches, mountain trails and cities well. She left the west side to attend Washington State University and went abroad to study language and culture in Italy.
While not on the job, Anna enjoys trail running, clam digging, hiking and wine tasting with friends. She's most at peace on top a Northwest mountain with her husband Andy Plymale and their muddy Aussie-dog Poa.
In 2016 Washington State University named Anna Woman of the Year, and the Society of Professional Journalists Western Washington Pro Chapter named her Journalist of the Year. Her many journalism awards include two Gracies, a Sigma Delta Chi medal and the David Douglas Award from the Washington State Historical Society.
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In March, women and girls from the Umatilla tribes gather wild celery. The tradition connects them to their ancestors and heralds the arrival of spring. But collecting the plant is getting harder.
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It's as dry as it's been in a century in parts of Washington and Oregon. Some farmers are watching their crops fail, while others are selling cattle because they don't have the grass to feed it. -
A new version of the classic '80s video game Oregon Trail tries to represent the lives of Native Americans more accurately — no more braids or bows and arrows. But you can still die of dysentery. -
Medical services in small Northwest towns are stretched to the limit with shortages of qualified workers and PPE, CARES Act funds running out and hospitals at or near capacity. -
Fewer ships from China are docking in the U.S., which hurts U.S. farmers who send exports on the ships' return trips. And perishables that do make it sometimes rot on the docks in China. -
The Northwest is getting into the lucrative maple syrup industry. Farmers and researchers in Washington state are beginning to tap the sweet potential of the much-maligned bigleaf maple tree. -
In remote eastern Oregon, a serial crime is unfolding. Someone is killing purebred bulls. And they're doing it with a level of cruel precision that's frightening to both ranchers and law enforcement. -
Honey bees deal with many stressors: chemicals, climate change and viruses. But this year, a tiny mite has wiped out colonies, causing worry over whether there are enough bees left to do their jobs. -
The largest importers of crops like lentils, garbanzos or peas — China and India — aren't buying because of trade wars and tariffs. But farmers already planted in anticipation of sales. -
Online ads are telling Christmas shoppers to "keep it real" or "think about seasonal allergies" when they make their tree choices this year.
